Broken Childhood, Shattered Life
by Stereotypical Asian
Summary: A preview into the childhood of Tenten. How she lived with an abusive father, a beaten mother, her beloved brother Haku, and the events that led her into Konoha. [HIATUS FOO']
1. The Beginning

**Disclaimer:** I own no Naruto. Just me.

**Summary:** A preview into the childhood of Tenten. How she lived with an abusive father, a beaten mother, and her beloved brother, Haku.

* * *

She has always had a fascination about blood.

The rich color, the unique texture, the metallic flavor…it was always there in her life.

Her first experience with blood was when she was five and her father was mad. And raving drunk too. He came into the house after being gone for many hours in the day. Her mother would meekly ask about his day and all he did was glare in return. The horrible piercing glare full of hate and spite. Her mother would stop talking and she bowed her head.

Then out of nowhere her father would come towards her mother with angry strides as he came and hit his wife. Fist after fist came raining down to the woman as she begged with her drunken husband. She came into the middle of her parent's fighting.

"Stop it otosan! Stop it!" she pleaded. She banged her little fists at her father's knees. Her mother was staring with horror at her little brunette daughter. "Leave 'kassan alone!" she cried once again. Her father didn't even think as he hit his youngest child into a wall.

"So ya wanna play tough, eh?" Her father would come closer with menacing steps and she would scramble up and run out of the room to hide. "You can't hide from me! I'll find ya!" His steps came faster as she ran out the door and into the woods.

It was snowing in the Land of Water as usual in the wintertime. The snow kept flying into her face as she found a hole in a tree and hid. Sometimes she would hide for hours until her older brother came and made her come out. He only came after their father was passed out after beating his wife and sometime his own son.

She doesn't remember when she closed her eyes. Maybe it was from the snow coming in the hole or the sheer stress of whenever her father came home every night. All she remembers is that her older brother would come and look at her with his pretty chocolate eyes and tell her it was okay to come out and that it was almost midnight.

"Haku-niisan, I'm scared," She would confess quietly every time he found her. He would be rubbing his palms together, trying to bring heat back to his numb fingers. He always looks at her with a little smile. It never went to his eyes though.

"It's okay Ten-imouto. It will end someday, right?" He always said. Then he would grab her cold hand and bring her back to the hellhole they called home. Only after she was safely in her room did he let go of her had, tuck her into bed and say goodnight that she noticed there was blood on her hand. She stared at it while she was racking her five-year old brain to remember when she bled on her hand. After a while she knew that it was her seven-year old brother's blood.

She impulsively licked her palm. It tasted bitter. It tasted like slow poison. It tasted like inevitable death.

She shuddered. She hoped that she would never see blood again. But she knew it would always be there. Always.

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She was eight now, and already she wished she were dead.

After dealing with her father abusing his wife and children nightly, she felt that she should just let him kill her. Haku-niisan kept taking her out of the house whenever their father came home. He gave her hope for another day.

It was spring now, yet it still looked like it was winter. The trees, if there were any, still had no leaves and there was a chill that the wind brought. The only good thing was that flowers started to bloom and their father had to stay out longer for his job.

"Haku-niisan look! A bunny!" She whispered excitedly. The white rabbit was nibbling on the sweet grass. Her tangled brown hair was tickling her face as a gust of wind came. She looked at her brother and saw that he was staring at the rabbit with fascination.

His chocolate colored eyes were intent on seeing every movement the bunny did. His mid-shoulder length hair was blowing in the breeze as it was confined into a ponytail.

"Isn't it pretty?" She asked, once again looking at her older brother. Her faded pink yukata was rippling in the breeze with her brother's clothing one as the bunny stood up. The rabbit looked at the two of them and sprinted out of the area.

"It was very pretty," Haku said whimsically. He adjusted his large shirt and fixed his pants while he redid his sister's hair bun. "Come on. We have to be home for lunch." He said. He lightly pulled on her arm.

"Okay. Hey niisan, do you think we can come back and see if the bunny comes back?" She asked hopefully. She glanced at him with her honey colored gaze. "Pretty please?"

"Maybe." He replied. They traveled to their house and Tenten went towards her room to deposit the white daises she had picked for her beloved brother. She walked to the doorway of the kitchen when she heard a crashing noise. She looked cautiously into the room and saw her father towering over Haku.

"Ha-" She started but stopped at the intensity of Haku's glare. He shook his head slightly and moved his head to the right, indicating that she should leave the house before their father sees them.

Tenten nodded her head and mouthed, 'I love you. See you soon,' before she quietly dashed outside and ran into the newly fallen snow. It seemed like while she was inside it had started snowing. The snow was coming down in large snowflakes as she ran full speed into town.

Their house was a mile from civilization but she ran on her short legs. 'Haku-niisan could take care of himself. He was safe as long as he got out of there. He was two years older than her but twice as smart. He would be safe,' she kept telling herself. This became her mantra while she was sitting, all huddled up in a corner of an abandoned ally.

'He will be safe.' She told herself as the snow had come down heavier and covered her body. She put her head between her knees and waited for him.

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She had waited for hours. Or what felt like hours. Tenten stood up and shook herself of the snow that had collected on her clothing. If Haku-niisan hadn't found her now, maybe he was still looking.

She gazed at the snow and found that she must have stayed there for a while, because there was almost four inches of new snow while she was resting. She walked around the town that was the Land of Water. No Haku.

She stumbled across one of her father's coworkers and looked at him. "Excuse me but, um, do you know why my father came home early?" She gave him a look of questioning and added as an afterthought, "Please?"

"Yer pops? We we'r done with them buildin'. The boss man said we'r allowed to come home. Why lil' girl?" He said with his gruff voice. He was staring at her suspiciously.

"Just curious. Thanks mister." Tenten said politely as she quickly bowed and ran back home. She went slower then she did running out of there but still quick. She stopped and looked to the front of her house.

It was a pincushion.

The house was covered in large icicles. Tenten carefully entered inside and stopped dead cold. There were bodies of some of the people Tenten's father worked with and her father himself. She was frozen in place as she stared at the icicles that went through the men. Icicles…

She rushed into the house and ran through out the rooms. "Mama! Haku-nii! Where are you?" Tenten yelled. She ran into the living room and found her mother's body hunched over, while leaning on the wall.

"Mama…?" She shook her mother's shoulder and her whole body fell over. She pupil-less eyes staring at nothing. Tenten screamed. She stood up quickly and ran into the other rooms.

"Niisan! Niisan!" She yelled. Tenten went through the remaining rooms and found her strands of her brother's hair on the floor. "Oh, niisan…" She whispered as tears went down her face. She looked around the room from her view from the floor. There were broken pottery and a smashed up crate. She also saw the blood adorning the wall.

She grabbed the remaining hair off the floor and held it in her fist. Tenten was fully crying now, sobs racking her little body.

"Niisan…" She whimpered. After gathering herself back together, she stood up, prayed for her mother's and Haku's soul and then went around in the house looking for useful items that she could leave with. She went in her parent's room and found some yen. She pocketed that.

She then went in her parent's room and found a pair of getas that were her mother's. They were too big but they would have to do.

She went and packed up some of her warm clothing and placed it in a canvas bag. Tenten went outside from the back of the house, wiped away her freezing tears and left her house, never looking back.

Never thinking of the dead bodies. Never thinking of the horrible memories. Never thinking of the childhood she lost. She was just an orphan who had lost her beloved brother and her reason of living. She was just an eight year old who grew up too fast.

So now she left towards a hidden village that was the opposite of the Kirigakure, Village Hidden in Mist, and of the Land of Water.

She was going to Konohagakure, the Village Hidden Among Leaves. She was going to the Land of Fire.

* * *

AN. Okay…this is a little ansty but too bad. I am the authoress! Fear me!

I have always thought, ever since I saw Tenten and Haku, that they were siblings. Come on! They have the same hair color-ish, their hairstyles have buns in them, and according to the statistics, they weight almost the same and are almost the same height. Also, they have a fetish for weapons. Like sebon needles.

Coincidence? I think not. Okay in my head it is...

So, review, give me creative criticism, tell me where the typos are etc.

Advice is allowed and greatly appreciated. Flames are for the campfire where I roast marshmallows. Yum.


	2. The Ship

**Disclaimer:** I own no Naruto. Just me.

**Summary:** A preview into the childhood of Tenten. How she lived with an abusive father, a beaten mother, and her beloved brother, Haku.

* * *

It was a dark night on the sea, yet the waves had been brightly illuminated. Partially because of the big lights bolted on the front of the ship and partially because there was a full moon out. The stars glimmered into the background, hidden from the moonlight.

Yet Tenten could see nothing of this. She was in the lower deck, concealed within a crate of silk. She was feeling a little seasick with the boat rocking to and fro. Tenten kept the contents of her very small breakfast, if you could call eating breadcrumbs breakfast, down and stared at the other crates through a hole she had made with a spare kunai. It had belonged to her maternal grandfather…

She jumped slightly at the sudden noise from some of the men upper deck. She had heard the shout for land and the crew above deck had scrambled to their positions for anchoring the ship down.

The ship was not an impressive one, for it was just a lowly cargo ship that happened to sell items unique to the one and only Kirigakure. So what if it was illegal smuggling beautiful silks and exotic fish? Money was money.

The only reason that Tenten was on this ship full of smugglers and illegal items is that she did not have enough yen to go on the ferry that went to the different lands and islands disconnected to the Land of Water. Unfortunately, the ferry rides cost about three times as much as Tenten had in her possession. Then there was only one thing to do if you couldn't get on the ferry.

Go on a different ship. Like an illegal cargo ship.

So Tenten went along the harbor of docked ships and innocently asked the people on the ship where they were going. The sailors didn't think much of an eight year old asking them where they were going and told them.

Most of the sailors, though, were going to the islands near by. The Land of Rocks, the Land of Rain, the Land of Clouds…not a lot of sailors were going to where Tenten wanted to be.

She reached the last two ships anchored to the dock. These were her last two chances for the day, if not, the week. She went towards the ships with her head bowed low and walked up to the nearest person there.

"Excuse me, but where is this ship heading? My master wanted me to know where everyone is going. He writes down the dest…destin…" Tenten stumbled with the word and blushed.

The gruff man she was asking looked at her with his one eye. There was an eye patch and a large scar going diagonally down and under the eye patch. "Destination." He said harshly.

Tenten blushed brighter and looked at her shoes. "Thank you sir. Where are you going then?"

"Land of Fire 'n Wind. Now shoo. You're botherin' me." He then ignored Tenten and continued piling crates onto another man with no hair and a large tattoo. There were still many crates to pile on the pitiful ship and only a handful of burly men.

She bowed, said her thanks, and went to report on her fictional master. Tenten quietly and quickly went around the men and to the crates. She pulled on the tops to see if any were loose. To her luck, the third one she pulled on made only a whisper of noise and the top came off of it. Tenten looked around, jumped in and secured the top back to the rest of the crate.

After what felt like forever to her, but it was actually less then an hour, two men came and picked up the crate. Tenten did her best trying not to shift around too much in the enclosed space. There was barely enough room to put her head up and she had to sit by lying on her side and curling up her body on top of the smooth silk.

"Damn, it feels like the crates arr gettin' heavier an' heavier, don't it?" The man carrying the box on Tenten's right side asked. His voice was muffled through the wooden crate.

"Yah. I van't belfeve it. Sof heavy." the left man responded with a thick and stifled accent. His side was slipping out of his grasp and the crate was slowly leaning to the left side.

"Hey! Cut that crap out! Yer gunna make the crate smash open. Then what arr those other sailors gunna say about us, huh?" the man said severely. He stopped and waited for the other man to re-grip his side.

"I sovvy," was that the man replied. There was no other conversation for the rest of the ride down to the cargo bay. The men dropped the crate onto another one and left the room.

Tenten sprawled out in the box as best she could and rested. She sat up quickly, hitting her head in the process, and realized something. How could she know where she was at when this stupid crate muted the activities on the upper deck?

Leaving the top part of the crate open meant that if another box went on top of the crate then she wouldn't be able to get out. Also the crewmembers could see her in the box and throw her off the ship.

That would suck, drowning in the middle of nowhere…

She then started sawing part of the crate with her kunai and made a hole on the side. Tenten could hear everything a lot clearer then before. She looked through the opening, saw the two men, she assumed that placed her here, going up and down the stairs depositing boxes in this cargo room.

Tenten heard muttering and the voices faded. Did the guys leave already?

No…she was just drifting off…

She closed her eyelids and fell into nothingness. For it was the first time she had slept since her family had died.

Sleep…

* * *

AN: I am terribly terribly sorry on this short chapter. I had actually wanted to expand this further but I was caught up in things, like the County Fair and my muse staying in Columbia for a while.

I will update every month on the first. So be prepared! O! I have school starting on the 27th so I will have more ideas and a longer third chapter.

Huzzah! I thank my lovely reviewers **ElektratheAssassin0891 **and **Sailor Kunoichi**! Much luff to you!


	3. The Ninjas

**Disclaimer:** I own no Naruto. Just me.

**Summary:** A preview into the childhood of Tenten. How she lived with an abusive father, a beaten mother, her beloved brother Haku, and the events that led her into Konoha.

* * *

The moment the ship anchored, Tenten knew one of two things. One, if she didn't get off the ship and into the Land of Fire, this trip was all for nothing, and two if she _did _get off the ship, how was she going to escape this box without anyone noticing?

The latter thought made her think while the members up above were still getting everything ready for landing. Hmm…the most obvious thing was to jump out of the crate, surprise the smugglers and run like Hell's hounds were after you.

Yeah, let's just say Tenten couldn't think quick enough for a better plan. Why? Because the crate was moving out of that room and up the stairs.

Tenten shifted off her backside and moved so that she was resting on the balls of her feet. Her legs were cramping up as she was waiting awkwardly for the thump of the ground. Tenten gripped the strap of her canvas bag and prepared to jump.

The crate was bobbing up and down with the steps that the men took as they went off the ship and onto a dock. They kept walking, going off the dock and to the vacant area they were depositing their treasures. The men dropped their crate, suspecting nothing, and made their way back to the boat.

Tenten propped up one of the corners of the lid of the crate and peaked through it. She saw one large man; his back to the stacks of crates, and also saw plenty of trees.

Interesting. Lots and lots of hiding spaces.

She took her chance. Her back was right under the lid and her thin body was pumping with adrenaline. Now…

Bam. Dash. Plop. Curse. Run.

The moment her back collided with the lid, her feet were already touching the ground as she dashed off into the forest. The lid simply landed on top of another crate. As the guard turned just in time to see a blur of pink and white run into the shadows of the trees. The large guard gave a curse and ran after the blur.

Tenten weaved through the trees, her bag repeatedly hitting her leg every few seconds. The twigs and branches were whipping her arms and legs as she ran as far away from the guard as she could. Scouring the trees in front of her, she saw a tree with a hole in its trunk. She looked over her shoulder and tried to see the huge guard.

Nothing. No…wait. There was a small figure going towards her. He was far behind.

With that information in hand, Tenten ran to the tree and stuffed her bag into the hole. The hole was slightly smaller then her but she could fit in if she tried.

She put her head and arms in the hole, face planting into her bag, and wiggled her shoulders into the hole. After much painful friction with the bark around the hole, her shoulders eased in. The rest of her body followed with little problems and she curled up with her bag blocking the hole.

She heard a rustling noise; most likely the dry leaves being thrown about by the breeze, then a while later, she heard footsteps going near the tree trunk she was hiding in. When Tenten heard those steps, she didn't even move or breathe. There may be a chance she'll be caught, but hiding from her father made her an expert on being unseen and unheard even if he did find her sometimes.

It took a few moments until the burly guard ran away from the tree. He had taken a route behind the tree, assuming that was the path that the small blur took. As soon as Tenten had felt that the man was not coming back or another man was coming, she crawled out of the hole and ran.

Tenten looked at the sky and saw the telltale glimpse of orange and pink. The sun was slowly but surly rising in this Land of Fire. It was…interesting. Did everyone see the same sun? Was this the same sun that rose in the Land of Water? She looked up at the sunrise she'd sorely neglected on those three days in the crate, and traveled towards it.

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It was around noontime now.

The sun was over her head, making the heat unbearable. Tenten wiped her forehead for the umpteenth time. The temperature was really different from the Land of Water. Even though Tenten knew that before she left that island, it didn't really sink in until she was walking to a hidden village that was, well hidden, in 100 plus degrees of heat.

She found a small tree that had oranges hanging on the branches. Tenten grabbed the closest one to her and studied it. Oranges were a fruit she had never eaten but had seen the very few rich people eat. They peeled it and ate the inside.

Tenten sat down in the blissful shade and took her kunai to make a hole in the round fruit. She then peeled it with her fingernails and let the sweet smelling rind fall to the ground. She took a small bite if the fresh fruit and it was something so good and so sweet that it almost made Tenten forget about the blazing weather. She quickly devoured that orange and grabbed another.

After she had eaten her fill on the delicious fruit. She looked around the forest for any indication of the illustrious hidden village called Konohagakure. After a thorough visual scan of the forest around the orange tree, she sighed and put her head to the bark of the tree, tilting her head upwards. She expected to see more oranges and maybe some squirrels or other animals but she certainly didn't expect to see a man with a white mop of hair reading an orange book.

Oh my.

Tenten stared at the man reading in the tree. Why was he there anyways? With closer inspection at this unique man, she saw that he had a headband with a swirl and a pouch on his right leg, which was currently dangling off the branch. Ah. A Konoha ninja. A high ranking one at that.

"Yes?"

Tenten blinked owlishly and looked away from the man. She guessed that she was staring too long at this ninja.

"Do you need something?" the strange ninja inquired. His eyes, well his one eye, never left his book as he jumped down and stood in front of Tenten.

Tenten huddled closer to herself and held her canvas bag tightly. She feigned fear and looked at the guy's face with wide eyes.

"A-A-Are you from K-Konoha…?" She pretended to stutter and lowered her gaze.

"Yes. Do you need to go there?" He replied, eye only glancing at her once before retreating back to the mysterious orange book.

"Y-Yes. I have a d-distant c-c-cousin there. C-Can you h-help me sir?" Tenten fiddled with her fingers and blushed.

"Interesting," He said, as if remembering someone, "Where do you come from?" the white-haired ninja asked as he started walking along the beaten path. Tenten scrambled for her orange-crusted kunai and shoved it in her bag, making sure that it didn't cut through it and jogged to the man with the weird facemask. Honestly, who wears a facemask, a crooked headband and long sleeves in 100-degree weather?

"A-A small v-village…" Tenten said, walking not next to him but not behind him either. She played a role of an innocent child that was both shy and lost.

"Who is you cousin?" This white-haired ninja asked, his eye never leaving his book. It seemed like he was going to ask questions until he knew everything about Tenten.

"A-A girl…" Tenten blinked back tears, "Are w-we there yet?"

"Close." The man responded. There was large grey wall with forest green double doors, etched with crimson. On a closer look was two guards wearing masks shaped into animals. They both had the same uniform as the ninja near her.

Upon the large doors was a man who looked around the same age as the white-haired man. He had tanned skin and brown hair. He seemed forgettable at first glance until you noticed a large scar going over his nose. He perked up at seeing the male ninja but switched into a perplexing look as he noticed Tenten.

"Kakashi-sensei, who is your little companion?" the man asked. He stared at the ninja that was now identified as Kakashi and waited for his answer.

"Well 'Ruka-sensei, I was traveling on the beaten road to life after my tiresome mission when I stumbled upon the tree of s-"

"Kakashi Hatake. Where did you get this child? And what are you doing!? Reading porn in front of a _child!_" The teacher tried to grab the orange book but failed because Kakashi lifted his arm with the book out of harm's way. "I'm going to burn that book!" he yelled.

Tenten watched the interaction before she quietly moved to get a better view of the village called Konoha.

It looked twenty times better then Kirigakure ever did. Children were running up and down the streets, merchants trying to sell their goods, women huddled together, gossiping, and the sounds of people talking everywhere. Restaurants, roads, stores, talking everywhere! So unlike the silence and empty streets that Kirigakure had to offer.

A hand on the shoulder shook Tenten out of her revere. She looked at the face the hand connected to and his lips were moving. It took a second or two to realize what he was talking to her.

"-each at the Ninja Academy for future ninjas. The children there start at nine years old. How old are you? Maybe you can join, that is, if you want to be a ninja. "

"W-Who are you?" Tenten stuttered, looking at the scarred man with large eyes.

"My name is Iruka Umino. And who may you be?" Iruka asked. He had this calming voice that put ease in Tenten's mind. He was nice and didn't ask so many questions like the other man, Kakashi.

"Shi." She answered.

She gazed upon the village and saw the faces of four people engraved into the rock. "Are those your Mizukages?" Tenten quickly inquired pointing at the faces after seeing the change of expressions on his face.

Iruka looked confused for a few moments but corrected Tenten. "No. Those are the Hokages, kind of like the Mizukages but they lead Konohagakure, not Kirigakure."

"Are you from Kirigakure?" Kakashi asked from his position on the wall. He was still reading his book but was listening with rapt attention.

"No," Tenten looked at the village once more before looking at Iruka and Kakashi. They seemed nice enough but experience taught Tenten not to trust anyone. She stared wistfully at the carefree children and bolted straight into the streets.

She ran straight on the street not once looking behind her. She knew she'd never out run a ninja and a ninja teacher but she did anyways. She walked casually in the crowd and unraveled her hair. The brown locks danced in the little gusts of air and the next thing you know, they were being swiftly braided into two braids on the sides of her head.

She went to the bathhouses, following a group of women and changed from her pink yukata into a grey t-shirt and a pair of long navy shorts. They were slightly too large as they repeatedly went down on her waist but having found thin rope she cutted the right length and looped it in her shorts.

She stuffed her clothing in her bag, threw the bag over so it went diagonally across her chest, scrubbed her face and hands and waited for some women leaving to the exit.

A pair of women came out, fully dressed with a toddler and left the bathhouse never noticing that a child was following them. Tenten merged into the crowd once more, grinned widely and imitated the other girls who were looking at the fancy items outside the store.

She looked away to quickly scan the crowds for the ninja pair. Obviously they separated, covering more ground to find a shy girl by the name of Ryou, who was wearing a faded pink yukata and had a thin canvas bag with a mop of messy hair tied into a bun.

Not Tenten who was outgoing, wearing grey shirt and navy shorts that went to her knees, had a large canvas bag and sporting two neatly done braids.

She was passing by a ramen stand when she heard the ninja teacher's voice. He seemed disheartened. He was talking to a blond haired boy with an orange jumpsuit of some kind, only it was tied off in the middle and he was wearing a black shirt. Goggles were resting on his head as he was loudly slurping noodles.

"-sad Naruto. She vanished in thin air. At first we thought she was hiding in an alley but she is cleverer then we thought. She looked like she was your age." Iruka was continuing his rant on the illustrious 'Shi' and how she escaped them somehow.

The boy Naruto was nodding and attempted to respond but was chided on talking with his mouth full. He gulped down the rest of his ramen and replied to Iruka.

"'Ruka-sensei, what'd she look like? Maybe I'll see her in the crowd or somethin'," He waved down a waitress and demanded another bowl, "Oi! Another bowl please!"

Iruka looked at Naruto with a mixture of fondness and pain. Tenten looked behind the curtain and saw the stack of bowls. One, two, three…wow. There were eight bowls, not counting on the new bowl of ramen in front of Naruto. Just looking at the food reminded Tenten that she hasn't eaten since noon and it was, judging by the sun, a late afternoon to early evening.

She couldn't resist the temptation that smelled awfully like ramen so she sat in a booth far away from the teacher and boy. Tenten looked at the prices of the different ramen and chose the cheapest one. She waited for the same waitress that Naruto used and relayed her order of plain noodles to the girl, Ayame.

Tenten leaned her elbow on the table and rested on it when a loud shout of, "IS THAT HER!?" made her look up. Alas, that boy Naruto was sharp. Loud and annoying maybe, but definitely sharp. She jumped out of her seat, heart beating rapidly as she knocked her stool over and attempted to run out of the restaurant.

And she would of gotten far except, while focusing on Iruka and Naruto, she neglected to see that Iruka used a clone to sneak up behind her. The clone Iruka gracefully grabbed Tenten by the middle, pinning her arms to the side.

"Let me go! LET ME GO!" Tenten roared. She was flailing all about knocking her head back on the chin. The clone only tightened his grip and walked towards the original Iruka. He stopped only two feet away.

"Whoa! I thought you said she was like Hinata! All quiet and stutter-y and stuff. She's like Ino and Sakura crossed over on a bad day! Yipes!" Naruto shuddered with that last image. That was just a nightmare waiting to happen…

"Ah, Shi-chan. You blended almost effortlessly into the crowd. You'd make a great stealth ninja…" Iruka absentmindedly said. He started walking towards Tenten.

"Lemmie go you bastard!" Tenten yelled. She spit at Iruka and kept wiggling out of the clone's grasp.

"Oohhh, no you didn't! I don't care if you're a girl! No one spits at Iruka-sensei! I'll kick your ass!!" Naruto loudly proclaimed. He went towards Tenten however Iruka was holding him back.

"Like I give a damn! I'll kick _your _ass you stupid kitsune!" Tenten snarled. She got one hand into her bag and grabbed the kunai. She pulled it out of her bag and stabbed the clone in the stomach. The clone poof-ed and she landed on the side of her ankle. Tenten gave a low hiss and stumbled out into the street, only to smash into a body. One look over and she knew the chase for the mysterious Mizu girl ended. For the body belonged to…

The Hokage.

Damn. Tenten tried to stumble away but with a swollen ankle and no escape route, she was boxed in and caught.

"Why hello Hokage-sama. This was the girl Kakashi-san and I informed you about." Iruka bowed and looked at the new 'captive'.

"Why hello there child. Do you need some medical attention? Your ankle looks quite red. Come, come. Iruka help carry this child. Naruto, you might as well come too." The Hokage seemed cheery when he said that.

"What!? Whyyy? I don't wanna!" Naruto whined.

"Then go home Naruto. I'll see you tomorrow." Iruka said. He gave Naruto a parting head pat as he made his way towards Tenten.

"Bye 'Ruka!" Naruto said, and with a quick wave he was out of here.

Iruka cautiously went towards Tenten and scooped her up. "Where to Hokage-sama?"

"Why to the hospital of course!" He replied and the two of them were off to the hospital in the middle of the village.

"So can I get a name of this lively dragon? " The Hokage asked, smoking his pipe on the way to the hospital.

Tenten glowered but gave in. "Tenten." She answered truthfully.

"And well Tenten, do you have a surname?"

"No."

"Any family?"

"No."

"Is there anyone here you know?"

"No."

"Well how old are you then?"

"Eight and a half."

"What's your favorite animal?"

Tenten looked puzzled with the change in subject but answered nonetheless. "Dragons."

"Dragons? I thought so. I've always liked monkey's myself."

"Monkeys and rats are okay with a dragon."

"Ah, really? How would you know that Tenten?"

"Mother. She did horoscopes in her spare time."

"What did your mother do most of the time then?"

Tenten stared at the old Hokage. "She was a punching bag."

Iruka and the Hokage paused for a moment.

"Did whomever hit your mother hit you?" Iruka was the one who asked this time.

Tenten gave a face that screamed, 'duh.' "Yeah, doesn't everyone get beaten?"

This time the Hokage gave a weird expression. "No. Not particularly. Who beat you?"

"Father."

"Did you have any siblings?"

Tenten gave a soft smile. "Haku-niisan."

"Is he here with you?" Iruka asked delicately. They were nearing the hospital. The lights were always on and the group was a hair-breath away from this medical building.

"How can he be if he's dead?" Tenten starkly replied. She wiggled in Iruka's grasp. "Let me go, we're there."

They entered the hospital and the people waiting there looked upon the scene. The Third Hokage was putting away his pipe, placing it in a pocket for safekeeping; Iruka was talking to an attendant with a girl in his arms, wiggling and squirming to get out of his grasp, and the rebellious child was using her little fists to beat on Iruka. After a few moments of talking with the attendant, they were off.

When they entered the hospital room, the doctor, claiming that she was going to do a physical exam to go along with the treatment of the ankle, ushered the two men out.

"Be gone fowl beasts!" The doctor said dramatically. She pushed them out and slammed the door.

After half an hour's worth of sitting, being prodded at with needles, looked at, hit with rubber hammers at the knees, had a piece of glass shoved in her mouth and under her tongue, shined a bright like in her eyes, Tenten had enough. So when the x-rays came back and the doctor finished bandaging up her ankle and showing Tenten how to use crutches, she was hobbling out of the room and into the hallway.

She kept stumbling with her awkward crutches and gave up, just sitting until Iruka and the Hokage were finished talking to the female doctor. Maybe she could get Iruka to carry her again, that way she didn't need to use those evil crutches.

Tenten over heard bits and pieces of their conversation, "-wollen ankle. But she has healed shoulder, wrist, both ankles and four finger breaks-", "-ealed scarring on back-", "-ruises on her upper arms-", "-bsolutely no sexual abuse-", "-clusion, an abused child-", "-sychological exam next time around-", "-a case of mild malnutrition, feed her healthy greens-"

Tenten was watching their faces when the conversation was still going. The Hokage looked expressionless while Iruka looked so saddened by the news, as if not expecting it even though Tenten said she was abused.

Tenten turned in her seat so that she was putting her head on the armrest and her swollen right ankle on the other armrest. This was a boring building. She undid her braids and redid her loose hair bun. She always felt the safest with a bun, no worries about pulled hair or-

"Are you ready to go Tenten-chan?" Iruka asked. They were both finished talking with the doctor. The Third Hokage had left the blinding white hospital in favor of his multi-colored house. Iruka waited patiently for Tenten to respond to his question.

Tenten looked confusedly at Iruka and said, "I have no place to go." She looked over at the evil crutches and picked them up. She sat properly on the seat and looked at Iruka with a blank stare.

"I know. You are going to be living near Naruto. He was the blond boy eating ramen earlier." Iruka helped Tenten off the chair and steadied her balance as she was getting use to the crutches.

"Okay then. Let's go!" Tenten used her crutches to slowly walk to the exit.

"Do you need help Tenten-chan?" Iruka asked. He was worried that she was going to fall and damage her swollen ankle.

"Oh course not!" Tenten said proudly, "And don't call me 'chan'!" she added. She was effortlessly gliding to the exit with no hesitation on the crutches. She even stopped to hold the door open for Iruka and another man. The man that went out the door just happened to have crutches also.

"Okay then Tenten-san. How did you learn to walk on those things so fast?" Iruka asked in amazement. One moment she was going to fall face first into the ground with those crutches and the next moment she was using them like she had those crutches her whole life.

"Monkey see, monkey do." She remarked with a smirk. They both left the hospital and started their long trek to the apartment building Naruto, and now Tenten, were going to be living in.

* * *

AN: Huzzah! How's that for a make-up chapter?!

This is kind of an apology chapter because the previous chapter was so short! Two pages last time, eight pages this time! Yayyyy!

My computer is kill itself and doesn't work. But alas, I still luff that laptop. So if I don't update on time or it's really short, blame the computer, not the authoress! ;;

My beloved muse is back from Columbia! I could write more knowing she's safe. So thank her for being back in the states!

I'd like to thank my old and new reviewers! And the people who added my story to their story alerts or favorite story! So…

Kudos to all of youuuu!

Review my darlings!


	4. Author's Note

To my reviewers and to those who have added BCSL to their story and favorites alerts,

I am sorry to say that between my homework, annoying friends, my muse ignoring me, and life in general, I have absolutely no time for writing.

I am regretful to say that BCSL will be on a hiatus for quite a while. I will try to update throughout the year but there are no guarantees.

Alas, I am sorry.

-Yaoi is Love (Kai-kun)


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